Local fighters, national stars shine in squash slam on day 2

Raipur: Intense competition and high-quality squash marked the second day of the Eastern Slam Chhattisgarh 2026 at Raipur, with several matches stretching to five games under the Chhattisgarh Squash Association.Local players led Chhattisgarh’s charge. In Boys U-11, Ishabh Surana and Ivan Dubey progressed. In U-17, Reyansh Kulshreshtha won in straight games against Kunal Yadav of Uttar Pradesh, while Divyam Upadhyay produced the day’s biggest comeback. He recovered from a game down to beat West Bengal’s Raghavendra Thirani 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7.In U-19, Yash Parmar defeated fellow Chhattisgarhi Jeet Parekh in four games.

Jinansh Jain delivered the most emphatic result of the day, blanking Haryana’s Daksh Sehrawat 11-0, 11-1, 11-0. Outstation players also dominated. In U-11 boys, Haryana’s Aarush Sarkar, Karnataka’s Abhik Nayak and Tamil Nadu’s Praneesh SK advanced comfortably. Delhi’s Prabhdeep Singh edged Kabir Singh in a five-game thriller.In Girls U-11, Maharashtra’s Navya Gupta and Tamil Nadu’s Navya Khatri won convincingly.

Delhi’s Sayra Tayal came back from a game down to defeat Madhya Pradesh’s Anaisha Khare. The U-13 boys saw Tamil Nadu’s Lakhwanth AP concede just four points in a straight-games win over Haryana’s Parwan Singh. Delhi’s Vihaan Kohli and Maharashtra’s Krishiv Mittal also moved ahead.The Girls U-13 draw produced the day’s most dramatic contest. Uttarakhand’s Chitrakshi Arora outlasted Goa’s Srishti Rajagopalan in five games.

Delhi’s Kirat Deopa also survived a five-game test against Telangana’s Myra Aramreddy.In the Men’s Round of 64, Chhattisgarh’s Prabhat Minj beat Uttar Pradesh’s Kartikeya Tripathi in straight games. However, Malay Rathore, Harikrishnan MV, Vidik Karkashe and Kunal Pal exited against higher-ranked opponents. With top contenders advancing, the tournament is set to intensify in the coming days.